Peterson stars as Raptors best Celtics

Mike James tallied 20 and six assists, while Charlie Villanueva ended with 18
points, as Toronto beat Boston for just the second time in the last nine
meetings. Matt Bonner went 5-of-6 from three-point range for 15 points for the
Raptors.

Paul Pierce had 33 points and seven rebounds for the Celtics, who have dropped
two of their last three contests. Wally Szczerbiak ended with 23 points, but
the Celtics couldn’t overcome the loss of guard Delonte West in the opening
quarter. West left the game with a strained right groin.

Boston was within one twice in the final quarter, the last time at 84-83
following two free throws from Szczerbiak with 9:02 remaining. However, Bonner
hit consecutive three-pointers, sandwiched around a foul shot from Szczerbiak,
to make it 90-84.

The Raptors extended to their largest lead at 102-89 on a James jumper with
2:48 left.

Boston clawed as close as four, as a Pierce three-point play made it 105-101
with 1:02 to go, but James converted six free throws down the stretch.

Toronto led 31-29 through 12 minutes, but the Celtics grabbed a 52-51 edge at
the half. The Celtics, who were behind by as many as nine in the second,
scored the final six points of the half.

A 9-2 run pushed the Raptors to a 79-70 advantage in the third quarter. A pair
of free throws by Bosh capped the spurt with 2:06 on the clock, before Boston
drew within 82-77 heading into the fourth.

Game Notes

Pierce and Bosh were both selected for Team USA’s initial roster in line for
the 2008 Summer Olympics…Boston has lost nine of its last 14 at
Toronto…This marked Toronto’s 591st straight game with a three-pointer. The
NBA record is 594, held by the Miami Heat, a streak that ended November 10,
2001 versus Sacramento…Ryan Gomes had 15 points and Al Jefferson scored 13
for Boston…Boston shot 55.4 percent from the field, compared to 54 percent
for Toronto…This was the fifth straight game Pierce topped 30 points.